he State Department on Tuesday admonished the Chinese government for reportedly shutting down a church service last week aimed at memorializing tens of thousands of people killed during an earthquake a decade ago.

"We are deeply concerned by the Chinese governmentâ€™s reported harassment of the Early Rain Covenant Church, in Chengdu, Sichuan Province after they planned to hold a memorial service on May 12, for the victims of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

"The United States government joins the people of China in mourning the loss of tens of thousands of lives in the tragedy, and notes the value of memorializing their lives and calling for full accountability to prevent or mitigate future disasters," Nauert continued....